


Aren't You Tired of Being Lazy? Don't You Just Want to Be Yourself?

by puffinmuffin13



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), F/M, Feelings Realization, Himikichi Harmony - An Oumeno Weekend Event, I honestly don't know what to put in these tags, it's 11:30 pm give me a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25796389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puffinmuffin13/pseuds/puffinmuffin13
Summary: "So if it's tiring for her to hold you back, why do you do it to yourself?"+++Kokichi asks Himiko some hard questions about why she never expresses herself as anything other than the classroom lazy girl, and Himiko comes to a decision.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Yumeno Himiko
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56





	Aren't You Tired of Being Lazy? Don't You Just Want to Be Yourself?

Kokichi was an expert in social masks, if he did say so himself. Everything from someone's expressions to the people they stuck around could say something about the persona they stepped into after leaving the house – whether that persona was natural or not.

So of course, Kokichi noticed that Shuichi was using his hat like a shield, and that Kaito played himself up as the hero even when he felt weak... And that Himiko was wearing a mask just like Kokichi was.

The thing was... It was just so _weird!_ Normally people put on masks to pretend to be more confident in themselves, like Kaito, or to pretend to be better than others, like he himself did; why was Himiko covering herself with lies of magical limitations and low energy? Kokichi snuck a look into her health files once to see if she had some condition she was embarrassed about sharing, but that didn't seem to be it, unless she was undiagnosed or the files were in a less accessable place than the easily-lockpickable principal's office. Kokichi wouldn't have even judged her if it was a condition, but it made no sense for her to hold herself back behind a mask! Why was she doing this?!

 _Well then,_ Kokichi decided, reflecting on the mystery while sitting on the roof of the dorms, _if she wants to hide behind a lie, then it's my duty, as supreme leader of all lies, to break that mask she hides behind!_

Kokichi smirked to himself. Swinging his legs back over the railing he was sitting on, Kokichi skipped down to the main floor to begin his search for the little mage. 

—

"You were _stuck_ in a _closet?!_ "

That was the first thing Himiko heard when the closet door finally got opened after half an hour of being stuck in there. Himiko perked up, squinting in the sudden flow of light and a her heart still jumping from the door swinging open suddenly. "Nyeh?" she asked, still processing the words. "What do you mean by that?"

There was a dramatic sigh from the person in front of her, and Himiko rubbed her eyes to try and adjust her eyes faster from the light change. "Isn't it obvious? It means I've been looking for you all over, and when I finally find you, you've been just sitting in a closet I'd never search in this whole time! What a dastardly trick!" they said. That voice sounded familiar...

Himiko gave up and covered her eyes with her hat, accepting that she'd just have to deal with not being able to see for the next few minutes. "Well, sorry for needing to hide away for my own good..." she muttered, a little annoyed by the jokes this person was making. Slowly she stood up from the floor, cracking her joints and stretching her whole body. God, this event had really drained her MP...

"Hide? From what?" The person stepped aside so Himiko could leave the closet, and she shuffled past them. "Did Angie let a goat into the school again?"

"No, not this time..." Himiko sighed, jumping a little when the closet door was shut loudly behind her. Her helper giggled, making Himiko huff, but she mumbled out the rest of what she was going to say. "One of the upperclassmen did something stupid and I got shoved in there by Tenko to protect me..."

"By Tenko, huh?" They seemed to be rocking back and forth on their heels, but it was still a little hard to tell – mostly because most of her vision was obscured by her hat. Still, her sight was slowly returning, and the outline of the person who helped her was becoming more defined by the second. They said, "She sure seems suuuuuper protective of you. Doesn't that get tiring, being under her arm all the time?"

"Uhm..." Himiko hesitated. "It's a pain in how she won't leave me alone..."

"Hm, but that wasn't what I asked, was it?" they hummed, coming more into focus with every time Himiko blinked. "It's almost like you're avoiding the question..."

Himiko gasped when she finally made out who it was, pulling up her hat enough so that she could see his face.

"My beloved mage."

Himiko let out a strangled noise that was somewhere between a yelp and a growl. Kokichi giggled, and Himiko blushed, clearing her throat so she could ask, "You? Why did you help me, Kokichi?"

"What, am I not allowed to help my classmates anymore? Am I banned from being a good person just because I'm a liar?" Kokichi pouted, fake tears in his eyes and hands on his cheeks. "That stings, you know..." He sniffled, before his frown jumped to a smirk. "Especially considering you're just as big a liar as me."

"Nyeh?!" Himiko shook her head, thoroughly baffled with the accusation. "No way! You're the only liar in this class, not me!"

"Everybody lies, Himiko," Kokichi countered instantly, putting a finger to his lips as his expression turned blank. "Whether it's to be kind by saying someone's outfit doesn't look bad, or to be mean by tricking them somehow. Ev-er-y-bo-dy lies!" He sounded the syllables out slowly, at the end bursting into a huge grin and yelling the last word loud enough that Himiko covered her ears on reflex. Kokichi snorted, smirk back on his face. "And don't you lie when you say you don't have the MP for something?" he asked loudly so she could hear.

Himiko's heart jumped. She wasn't lying about MP and magic! She was just, uh... Using it as an excuse to not have to do things? "No..." Himiko protested, adjusting her hat nervously. "I-I don't do that..."

"Really? Because I think you're lyyyyiiiing!"

Himiko glanced away, teeth gritted tight to keep herself from saying anything that would invite further pointed out truths she didn't want to admit. Okay, okay, maybe she was exaggerating a bit sometimes! But magic was definitely real! _Her MP_ was real!

"Hey, Himiko, c'mon, don't give me the silent treatment like that," Kokichi whined, poking her shoulder. "Answer the question, c'mon! Doesn't it get tiring being under Tenko's arm all the time?"

Himiko curled in on herself, wondering if she just got this over with and answered this one question, he would go away. "Not always," she admitted quietly, still not looking at him. Kokichi immediately jumped on her answer.

"So there are some times when it _is_ tiring!"

"W-well –"

"So if it's tiring for her to hold you back, why do you do it to yourself?"

Himiko froze. "What?" she asked, the words hitting her hard but not clicking in her brain. It was like she'd turned a chapter ahead of the class and was trying to understand the complicated terms and processes on the page in front of her. "To myself...?"

"Yeah!" Kokichi said, and Himiko glanced up to see him smiling cheerfully with his arms behind his head. "You say that sometimes, the way Tenko always protects you and fawns over you gets tiring. So you want to be allowed to be yourself; your own person with your own decisions, right? So why is it," he said, expression turning more thoughtful, "that on those times when she isn't tiring you – which I can only assume is because she's letting you be yourself – you don't do anything? You just stick to the same 'nyeh,' 'that's a pain,' 'this is tiresome,' and 'I'm out of MP' catchphrases like you're some kind of doll." He let out a nishishi like the idea was funny, but Himiko just stared at him, stunned. How... Why...?

"I'm not a doll," Himiko mumbled quietly, dropping her gaze and puffing out her cheeks. Though now that he explained it, it was like the question he asked was growing inside her, making her question her own actions and personality. Why _did_ she never express herself? Why _did_ she just go along with the persona everyone seemed to expect of her by now, and never try something new? At the very least, why didn't she try getting out of the closet after her one miserable attempt resulting in finding the door was stuck?! She could've called for help, or told Tenko to come back and get her, or –! Himiko let out a breath, scowling at the ground before standing up straight, giving Kokichi a glare that seemed to make him blink. She repeated, louder, "I'm not a doll! So don't compare me to one! I, Himiko Yumeno, am a mighty mage, and if you can't see that, I'll make you see that! Without even laying a single curse on you!"

With that promise made, Himiko turned on her heel and strode off, noticing when she was a good feet away that she wasn't headed in the direction of anywhere that she found interesting, but screw it! The energy she'd scrapped together for that declaration was fading fast, and even though her brain was already complaining about how much effort this entire idea was, Himiko refused to imply to Kokichi that she'd made a mistake. Not when she was giving a dramatic exit like this that was worthy of a real mage!

Himiko forced a smile, walking with a determination she didn't use often. She'd need a nap to recharge her MP soon, but that was fine! She wasn't a doll only capable of sitting to the side and saying a few dumb phrases, and she was gonna prove that to everyone!

Himiko nodded to herself, not looking back even as she turned the corner and disappeared out of sight from Kokichi.

—

Kokichi stared down the hallway where Himiko had disappeared. That... Went surprisingly well!

"Nishishi!" Kokichi beamed, throwing his hands up in the air with a cheer. "Woohoo! Oh boy, I can't wait to see what she does now that she's not hiding all the time. I wonder if she'll ever drop the mage hat?" Kokichi mused to himself, tapping his chin and snickering at the idea of Himiko showing up in a hat like Shuichi's, or maybe a beanie. He couldn't decide if the idea was stupid, or cute!

After all, it wasn't like –

... Wait, hold up.

Kokichi froze, smile still and finger unmoving from his chin. Did he just think of the idea of Himiko in a beanie and call it cute? He swallowed, nervousness shooting through his veins but not showing on his blank smile. Oh. Oh no. Oh _shit!_

All at once, Kokichi took off, dashing in the other direction from the one Himiko took. He was not gonna deal with this today, nosireebob! He was gonna bury it deep down and throw those feelings in the Marina Trench. He didn't – he couldn't –!

As his internal screaming started up, Kokichi forced himself to slow down and put on his usual mischievous smile. His heart was pumping hard, and his palms were sweaty as hell, but with practiced ease Kokichi slipped into his usual persona and lied to himself that both of those things were merely caused by his spontaneous run.

Himiko's mask may have cracked today, but Kokichi's mask was going to remain for as long as he could manage.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahaha! I got this done in time for the first day of Himikichi Harmony! Screw you, lack of motivation and inspiration! I've got this event in the bag!


End file.
